Fintel strengthens software and data strategy with Mortgage Brain acquisition
Fintel, provider of software, data and support services to the retail financial services sector, has announced the acquisition of Mortgage Brain Holdings.
Fintel has acquired Mortgage Brain Holdings for a total consideration of £38.4m, having previously acquired an initial 5.8% stake in March 2024.
The group said this would strengthen its software and data division and further embed its presence in the mortgage advice process.
The acquisition represents Fintel’s long-term mission to build an infrastructure to support and power the future of retail financial services. Fintel will continue to invest in its software and data capabilities, with the view that the future of financial advice will be driven by connected, specialist applications built on modern architecture and powered by trusted data, designed to simplify adviser workflows.
Zahid Bilgrami will continue to lead Mortgage Brain as its chief executive and also take on an enhanced role within Fintel as chief executive of the software and data division.
This will see Bilgrami reconnected with Defaqto, a business he ran for 11 years prior to leading Mortgage Brain.
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Fintel will continue to invest materially in the development of technology by Mortgage Brain, supporting the development of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
Alongside Mortgage Brain, Fintel has acquired its subsidiary AE3 Media, parent company of Mortgage Solutions, bringing a portfolio of digital media and engagement platforms and providing opportunities to support industry collaboration and market insight.
The transaction will work alongside Fintel’s investment in specialist financial planning CRM platform, Plannr, in which it holds a 49% stake, supporting the evolving needs of the wealth advice sector through a cloud-native platform.
Mortgage Brain will extend Fintel’s proposition into the mortgage market, enhancing its ability to support the growing population of multi-disciplinary advisers who deliver wealth, mortgage and protection advice through a single client relationship.
Mortgage Brain and Plannr’s recent partnership has demonstrated how connected adviser technology can simplify workflows and reduce operational friction. By integrating Mortgage Brain’s sourcing, criteria, affordability and submission capabilities directly into the Plannr platform, advisers can move seamlessly between client fact find through to mortgage application within a single workflow.
Looking ahead, Fintel sees significant opportunities to further connect technology, data and workflows across the advice ecosystem.
It believes advice firms should retain control of their own data while benefiting from specialist applications that integrate seamlessly together. By reducing friction and improving data connectivity, Fintel aims to help advisers work more efficiently and deliver better outcomes for advisers, lenders and consumers.
Connected technology and trusted data will be future of financial advice
Zahid Bilgrami (pictured), CEO of Mortgage Brain, said: “The data is really the key. When you bring our proprietary datasets together, it places us in a unique position to build capable AI-driven solutions for intermediaries and end consumers alike.
“There is nobody else with the combined data assets we will have as the two businesses come together.”
Matt Timmins, CEO of Fintel, said: “We believe the future of financial advice will be built on connected technology, trusted data and specialist applications that work seamlessly together.
“Our investment in Plannr reflected our conviction that wealth advisers deserve modern, flexible technology that supports the evolving needs of advice businesses. In a market dominated by legacy tech providers, Plannr has proven that advisers want modern connected systems and they want to own their own data. The acquisition of Mortgage Brain extends that strategy into the mortgage market and strengthens our ability to support the growing number of advisers delivering multiple advice disciplines through a single client relationship.”
Timms added: “Mortgage Brain is a highly respected technology business with deep industry relationships and a long history of innovation. Combined with our existing software and data capabilities it represents another important step towards delivering our mission to build the platform and infrastructure powering the future of retail financial services.
“I am particularly pleased to welcome Zahid Bilgrami to Fintel’s leadership team. Zahid’s return to Defaqto, alongside his continued leadership of Mortgage Brain and our wider software and data division, creates a unique opportunity to bring together some of the most respected technology and data businesses in UK retail financial services under a shared vision for growth, innovation and adviser success.”
